Transcribing machine



Patented Apr. 29,1941

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,240,321 rmscnmmc momma Lincoln Thompson and Robert L. Stone, Stamford, Conn, assignors, by direct and mesne assignments, to The SoundScriber Corporation, Stamford, Conn a corporation of Connecticut Application December 31, 1938, Serial No. 248,691

This invention relates to improvements in sound reproduction, and more particularly to a phonograph machine for transcribing sound from thin disc records upon which dictated matter has been recorded in the form of a spiral sound.

thin disc records, such as are disclosed in Thompsons copending patent application, Serial No.'245,944, filed December 15, 1938, patented May 14, 1940, under No.'2,200,866, which records are recorded in a dictating machine of the type shown and described in Thompsons copending application, Serial-No. 248,690, filed December .31, 1938, and entitled fDisc dictatingmachine.-

One object of this invention is to provide a disc record transcribing machine of the above nature having improved means to "step back the reproducing arm over one or more. sound grooves so as to permit the dictated matter recorded thereon to be replayed.

Another object is to providea transcribing machine ofthe above nature having a solenoid device for back-spacing the sound pickup unit over one or more sound grooves on the record without raising the reproducing needle therefrom, or stopping the rotation of the turntable.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved disc record transcribing machine of the above nature which will be relatively inexpensive to manufacture, simple in construc-' tion,'compact, ornamental in appearance, and

very efllcient and durable in use.

With these and other objects in view, which will appear as the description proceeds, there has been illustrated in the accomp nyin drawings one form in which the invention 'may be conveniently embodied in practice.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a transcribingmaichine embodying the features. and principles 01' this invention, and showing'a portable loudspeaker, and back-spacing control switch associated therewith Fig. 2 is a sectional view through the turntable and showing a side view of the reproducing arm and the step-back mechanism.

' Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the step back mechanism, looking in the direction of the arrow machine and the electrical circuits and controls associated therewith.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference numerals designate like parts throughout the several views, the numeral I0 indicates a rectangular casing upon which a turntable H is rotatably' mounted,.said' turntable being driven by an electric motor. I2 through a friction sli-pping disc I3 (see Fig. 5), as fully described in applicant's prior Patent Number 2,133,596 dated October 18, 1938.

The electricimotor l2, together with a conventional form of vacuum tube amplifier I4 and an alternating current rectifier I5, is suitably'disq posed within the casing 10 below the casing top l6.

" A reproducer arm 11, carrying a pickup ,head [8 pivoted on a horizontal pin Ma and. a disc engaging needle I9, is swingably supported upon a vertical shaft 20 extending upwardly through the casing top It. The shaft 20 is journaled in a plate 2| secured on'the upper side of the casing top It, and is also journaledin a. bushing 22 secured to the undersurface of said casing top It.

The reproducer he d I8 is hinged to its arm II in such a manner that the needle l9 may be manually raised from and lowered into enga ge ment with a disc record 23, mounted on the tumtable It, and when not in use, may be seated upon a supporting cup 24 extending'upwardly from the casing top l6 outside the turntable, ll.

A conventional form of loudspeaker 25 is pro vided and is supported by a metallic flexible tube 26 secured to a table engaging base 21. The loudspeaker 25 is connected to the amplifier I!" in the casing III by a flexib1e,two-wire cable 28,, whereby the loudspeaker 25 may be disposed at,

- any desired position, either close to or at a dis--;

tance from the operator. Also, if desired; ear, phones (not shown) may be substituted for the? loudspeaker 25. The volume of sound emanating from the loudspeaker 25 may be controlled by means of a finger knob 29 conveniently mounted on the endwall 30 of the casing It.

By employing a light weight pickup l8, it has been iound that the reproducing needle I! may be moved laterally across the sound grooves of the disc without raising it out of engagement therewith and without in any manner injuring the sound record. Consequently, in order' to step-back'the needle I9 one or more sound grooves, it is only necessary to provide means for swinging the reproducing arm ll backwardly I through the desired angle. For this purpose,

provision is made of a 'pushbutton switch 3|, J

' preferably mounted in a mu ,flat block Ii which may be laid on the stenographers table or on the floor, whichever is most convenient.

' As herein shown, the back-spacing or stepback means for the reproducer needle ll comprises a horizontal L-shaped step-back arm 32 located under the casing top It and having its inner end 33 secured to the lower end 34 of the vertlcalshaft 2.. The arm 32 extends from the shaft end 84 forwardly beneath the casing top I. parallel with the reproducer arm II. The free end of the arm 32 has an arcuate -finger 35 extending substantially at right-angles to the arm 82, and being concentric with the of V theshaft 20.

the output terminals and lifrespeetively, of

the amplifier M. The rectifier I! is connected by conductors I8 and II to the line wires LI and L1 push button switch I! to which it is connected by a conductor l8, and the switch 12 is connected to the current rectifier II by a conductor 14.

The finger 35 is adapted to be encased by a.

roller 36, preferably of soft rubber, mounted upon a spindle 31, extending downwardly from a U-shaped soft iron bracket 88, said roller being disposed in alinement with said finger 35. The bracket 38 is hinged by a pin 3! to a yoke lug ll depending from a circularplate I, which in turn is rotatably and adJustably secured to a stationary part of the casing lO-in this instance, the underside of the casing top i8 -as by screws 42 which pass through a pair of opposite circumferentially-elongated slots 13, formed in the plate ll.

A downward extension of the lug 4' supp rts an adjusting screw 4| which is screw-threaded therein and is adapted for use in limiting the movement of the swingable bracket 38 away from the step-back arm 32 under the urge of-a coiled 1 spring surrounding the pin 39. As clearly shown in Fig. 4, the ends of thespring 45 react between the legs of. the bracket II and the lug ll, and said spring serves toconstantly urge the bracket "toward the screw VM to normally maintain the roller 36 spaced fromthe arcuate end 3! of the arm 32. y p

In order to cause the roller 33 to suddenly strike the arcuate end 38 of the arm 32, provision is made of an electromagnet having an iron core 48 adjacent the pivoted bifurcated iron bracket 38 so that when said solenoid 48 is energized, the end 41 of the core ll will attract the bracket to cause the roller 38 to strike the arcuate end 35 of the arm fl-with a sudden blow.

To adjust the throw or the roller. at and bracket 38, the plate II is mounted to swing about an axis which is substantially in line with the point of contact between the roller 3| and the arcuate end 3!. By means of this'construction, the angle of movement and throw of the roller 36 and brackets 38 may be accurately controlled, and hence. the resultant back-spacing of the arm 32 may be varied as desired.

Electrical circuits As clearly shown in Fig. 5; the motor i2 is connected to slim wire Ll by a conductor I! through a switch plug II, and is also connected by a conductor 5i through the switch plug II to the line wire L2. The amplifier I4 is connected to the line wires LI and L2 through the plug II by conductors 5!. and i. The solenoid ,4 is connected through the plug II to the line wire bodied in various other forms without departinl' L2 by a conductor 51 and by a conductor II to the switch 3| which in turn is connected throu h the plug II to the linewire Ll by a conductor It.

The reproducer or pick-up head ll is connected by conductors l and I to the input ter-.

minals 82 and 3, respectively, oLthe amplifier II, and the loudspeaker 25 is connected by con- The push button switch 12 is preferably mounted in the block II with the switch I! for either hand or foot actuation.

Operation IL The vacuum tubes of the amplifier l4 and 1 the rectifier I! will thus be energized, and the motor I: will be instantly started for rotatin the turntable II and the disc record It thereon. The pick-up head ll may then be manually lifted from its cup 24 swung over the disc 23, and the needle ll placed in the desired sound groove therein, ausing the reproduced sound vibrations to emana from the loudspeaker 2i.

In order to back-space the stylus I! one or more grooves, for replaying part of the dictated matter, it is'merely n for the operator to actuate the push button switch 3! by hand or by foot, whereby the solenoid It will be momentarily energized. This will cause the roller 30 to abruptly strike the arcuate end surface SI of the step-back arm 32 and "kick the reproducer needle it back over a number of sound grooves in the disc, 23 depending upon the adjustment of the screw 42, the angle of the plate ll, and the momentum due to the mass of the iron, bracket.

cation one form in which the invention maybef;

embodied, it is to be understood that this form is shown for the purpose of illustration only, and that the invention is not to be limited to the specific disclosure, but may be modified and emn-om its spirit. in short. the invention includes all the modifications and embodiments comin! within the scope of the following claims.

Having thus fully described the invention, what is claimed as new; and forlwhich it is desired to secure Letters Patent is:

1. In a transcribing machine, a frame, a driven turn e in said frame, a disc recordv seated thereon, a needle holding reproducer head. a reproducer arm for carrying said head mounted in said frame to swing over said record, a step back arm connected with and spaced from said reproducer arm and mounted to swing therewith. said step-back arm having an arcuate and section located at substantially right-angles thereto. a striking member pivoted to said frame, manualiy 0 means to force said striking'member suddenly against said arcuate end section to back-space said head'and needle a predetermined amount over said record, and means to adjust the angle and stroke of said striking member to vary the amount of back-spacing.

ductors 64 and '5 which are in the cable 28 to 2. Ina transcribing machine, a frame, a'driven turntable mounted in saidframe, a record seated on said turntable, a needle holding reproducer head, a swingable reproducer arm journaled step-back arm having an arcuate end section 10- cated at -'substantially right-angles thereto, a striking member-movably mounted on said frame,

' manually operated means to force said striking member suddenly against said arcuate end section to back-space said head and needle 8. predetermined amoimt over said record, and means in adjust the angle of said striking member to vary the amount of back-spacing.

3. In a transcribing machine, a frame, a driven turntable in said frame, a disc record carried thereby, a needle holding reproducer arm journaled in said frame and mounted to swing across said record, a step-back arm spaced below and connected with said reproducer arm and mounted to swing therewith, a roller carrying member pivoted to said frame, and magnetically operated means on said frame to attract said member and cause said roller-to strike said step-back arm with suflicient momentum to back-space said reproducer needle a predetermined number of grooves.

4. In a transcribing machine, a driven tumtable, a disc record seated thereon, a needle holding reprodu'cer head, a swingable reproducer arm carrying said head, a step-back arm connected with and spaced from said reproducer arm and mounted to swing therewith,- said stepeback-arm having an arcuate end section located at substantially right-angles thereto, a striking member, manually operated means to force said striking member against said arcuate end section to back-space said head and needle a predetermined amount over said record, andmeaus to adjust the angle and stroke of said striking memberto vary the amount of back-spacings 5. In a transcribing machine, a

holding reproducer head, a swingahle armmount ed to carry said head across said record, stepback means connected to said reproducer arm for swinging therewith, said step back means having an arcuate portion, and manually operated means having mechanical striking contact with driven turna table having a record. seated thereon, a needle 

